3/06/2008

Finally finding HMAS Sydney

Last week a search began that is 67 years in the making. In late November 1941 the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney battled the German raider HSK Kormoran off the west coast of Australia. Both ships sank. All 645 men from the Sydney disappeared, while 341 of the Kormoran's crew of 390 were rescued. The resulting mystery has endured for more than six decades: Why did all of the Australians vanish, and most of the Germans survive?
After fundraising for three years, the Finding Sydney Foundation has finally launched the effort to discover the wrecks of these two warships, and solve one of the last remaining mysteries from World War II. Check back here for more updates, and read my account of the ferocious battle.